While the efficiency numbers were not great, the Indiana defense boasted a respectable secondary in 2019. The Hoosiers thrived off of creating turnovers. Indiana tied for 33rd in the country with 13 team interceptions and they tied for fifth in the country in fumble recoveries with 13. With the departure of Hoosier safety Jonathan Crawford, Indiana has big shoes to fill. Luckily, there are a number of players capable of stepping up to the plate. IU's secondary will still be young next fall, but they will have the luxury of depth. Heading into spring, the IU defensive backs appears to be one of the most talented position groups on the roster. Indiana will return several starters from last year, and Tom Allen and his staff have recruited cornerbacks and safeties very well the past few years. While it is yet to be seen which individuals will produce most, the secondary will be among Indiana's strongest units in 2019.

Hoosier Huddle continues its Spring Preview series today by focusing on the big fellas upfront on the defensive line. The defensive line sometimes goes unrecognized unless there is a sack or tackle for loss, but the biggest contribution that they can make may be to occupy the offensive line and allow the IU linebackers to run around and make plays. The Hoosiers lose some pieces up from in Jacob Robinson, Mike Barwick Jr. Nile Sykes, Kayton Samuels and Jamerez Bowen. So it’ll be up to the next group of seniors and underclassmen to improve upon last year’s performance. Defensive line coach Mark Hagen has done a tremendous job piecing together the line over the last three seasons. While the waters may be murky on who lines up where, fans can trust that Hagen will get the most out of his guys.

Co-hosts Sammy Jacobs and T.J. Inman get Hoosier fans ready for spring practice with the first of two Spring Practice Preview podcasts. Today they will take a look at the Hoosier offense. We'll go position-by-position and look at key players, things to watch and name an under the radar player as well.

Spring practice is set to begin soon and Hoosier Huddle is previewing the upcoming camp with positional breakdowns and much more. Today’s preview is a look at the middle of Indiana’s 4-2-5 defense, the linebackers. We’ll start with a brief profile of each player in the position group, proceed with a few things we’ll be looking for in the spring and then wrap up with a projection of the depth chart for the 2019 season.

The tight end position has been talked about a lot over the past few seasons with the Hoosiers. Kevin Wilson’s offense under-utilized the position to the point of non-existence on the stat sheet and Mike DeBord’s offense used the position more, but still left a lot to be desired. So can the new offensive coordinator figure out how to utilize a position that the Hoosiers have both depth and talent? We’ll see soon enough. The Hoosiers do lose Ryan Watercutter to graduation as well as Austin Dorris who transferred to Bowling Green. The Hoosiers do have two young tight ends who project to be very good in TJ Ivy and Matt Bjorson, then Gary Cooper will join the team over the summer as a true freshman.

We are under two months away from the Indiana Football spring game and just a week away from the first spring practice. It is time for Hoosier Huddle’s preview coverage to ramp up after a couple month break following the season-ending loss to Purdue.

With a new offensive coordinator in town, the expectations are already heightened for Indiana’s 2019 offense. But no matter how good Kalen DeBoer is, games are won in the trenches. After losing Wes Martin, Brandon Knight, and Nick Linder to graduation, Indiana will be looking to these players to open up holes for the running game and protect the winner of the starting quarterback job.

I have gathered popular news stories from around the state, region and country that I thought fans would enjoy. If you have any links or stories you’d like to share please email them to TheHoosierHuddle@gmail.com by Thursday nights. I have also included some fun off-season reading.

Happy Friday! The spring practice previews continue with the wide receivers. This was a position group that answered a lot of questions last season and is looking to be more explosive in 2019. The group is led by seniors Nick Westbrook and Donavan Hale with promising juniors Ty Fryfogle and Whop Philyor adding to that veteran presence. With a new offensive coordinator and what will be a good quarterback battle, fans should be excited what they could see from this group.

Larry Tracy, from Indianapolis Decatur Central High School, was a priority target for Indiana head coach Tom Allen and his staff. The electric cornerback committed to the Hoosiers over offers from Iowa, Purdue, Cincinnati, Minnesota and others. As a senior in high school, the 5-foot-10, 175lb Tracy logged 64 tackles, 14 passes defended, nine tackles for loss, six fumble recoveries, three sacks, three forced fumbles, one interception and a blocked field goal. Tracy’s stellar performance garnered him a three-star grade. He was ranked as the 12th best player in the state of Indiana and the 78th best cornerback in the country, per 247Sports.

Strength and conditioning coach Dave Ballou opened a training session at Indiana University and spent time speaking with the media on Wednesday in Bloomington. In his second year at Indiana, Ballou and Dr. Matt Rhea have had time to implement their programs and it is anticipated that fans will really be able to see the gains and rewards from the players hard work on the field during the 2019 season.